Football coach scouts for U11, U13 players

The ongoing 2009 NMIFA Spring Youth Football League will provide the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association a pool of players who will represent the CNMI in future youth tournaments.

This was according to CNMI National Team coach and NMIFA technical director Sugao Kambe, who was seen going from one field to another during the first two weekends of the spring league.

“I am scouting for U11 and U13 players, who will be trained for future youth tournaments,” said Kambe, adding they have yet to get a schedule of tournaments for the CNMI.

The last time a CNMI youth team went off-island for a tournament was in July last year. The Commonwealth was among the 10 teams that participated in the 2008 U-14 EAFF Youth Festival held in Guam. Others squads that competed in the youth tournament were from China, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, DPR Korea Football Association, Korea Football Association, Macau, and Mongolia.

“You don’t prepare for tournaments a few months or days before they kick off, that’s why I am here, looking early for players who will be put in a training pool and will undergo a series of training sessions for a long period of time,” Kambe said

“It is very important to find the talents early, train them, and improve their skills so by the time they get into a tournament, they are ready,” he added.

The spring league holds competition in six age groups, namely the U4, U6, U8, U10, U13, and the U18. Around 500 kids from five football clubs—MP United FC, Matansa FC Paire FC, Independents FC, and Tan Holdings FC— are participating in the weekend league.

Eight teams are playing in the boys’ U13, while the girls division has four teams. MP United, Independents, and Paire have two boys teams each, while Matansa and Tan Holdings have one apiece. In the girls’ division, Independents has two, and Paire and Matansa have one each.

In the U18, MP United and Paire have one team each in the girls and boys division.

The U4 division has two teams from MP United and one from Paire, while U6 has nine teams, three from MP United, two from Paire, two from Matansa, and one each from Independents and Tan Holdings FC.

The U8 and U10 division have 10 teams each. MP United and Paire have three teams apiece in U8, Matansa has two, and Independents and Tan Holdings FC have one each. In U10, Matansa has three teams, MP United, Paire, and Independents have two apiece, and Tan Holdings has one.

Meanwhile, the five clubs are still accepting players. For registration, contact Tina Goodwin of MP United at 322 2072 or at tina@saipan.com; Christina Smith of Matansa at 285 9095 or at christina.m.smith@gmail.com; Rebecca Newman of Paire at pairefc@gmail.com; Michael Thomas of Independents at kavabilo@gmail.com.; and Ariel Mariano of Tan Holdings FC at 233-2898 or ariel_mariano@tanholdings.com.